MIDDLEHAM OK TO CARRY ON Hopes are high that a case of foot and mouth disease close to Middleham will not interrupt the preparation and racing of locally-trained horses. A case was confirmed on Wednesday at a cattle and sheep farm in Bellaby, about five miles away from the major training centre in Britain which is the base of top names such as Mark Johnston and Ferdy Murphy. Middleham Trainers` Association chairman James Bethell admitted that the case was too close for comfort. 'It`s just the other side of Leyburn, nearer Catterick than us,' he said today. 'I tried to find out whether it will affect us and I rang my vet but he said that I should just carry on. 'I still think the Ministry should have stopped it all and then we wouldn`t be in this situation.' It is also business as usual for leading Middleham trainer Johnston. 'The outbreak is about five miles away and shouldn`t affect us,' he explained. 'There is no restriction on the movement of horses within an exclusion zone but we will obviously continue to take all the precautions with disinfection. 'Provided we are not a farm with livestock we are all right.' A BHB spokesman explained: 'A horse cannot pass the virus into the air through exhalation like a cow or pig can. 'Horses carry the virus in a different way and provided that the disinfection procedures are followed, there is virtually no risk of passing the disease on.'
